During the Iron Age, millions of women and children were burned at the stake, hanged, or tortured because they were accused of being witches. Many of the accused confessed to flying during the night to have meetings with the Devil and to cast hexes on their enemies. While many confessed after severe torture, other accused “witches" sincerely believed that they had been on a magical adventure. It is now believed by historians that one of the widely used "potions" of the witches was an alkaloid, a compound with hallucinogenic properties. We may never know that there are molecules with antitumor properties, that are active against HIV, or that could be wonder drugs for schizophrenia, for Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease in the tropical plants